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Welcome Speech

Most Venerable Shinzan Egawa

President of Japan Buddhist Federation

I am really honoured to have the 29 General Conference of The World Fellowship of
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Buddhists (The WFB) held this year in Japan.

The WFB has about seventy years of history. This is the fourth time to hold the General
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Conference in Japan, the first time in ten years. And, the 20 General Conference of the World
Fellowship of Buddhist Youth and the 11 Meeting of the World Buddhist University Council
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will be held here, too.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all Buddhist representatives who have come
from all over the world to gather here, and all Japanese Buddhist warmly welcomes as well.

This conference is scheduled to be five days long. The first four days, including the Opening
Ceremony, Welcome Reception and various conferences, will be held in Narita City. Then on
the fifth day, the Prayer Ceremony for World Peace and the Commemorative Ceremony will
be held at Sojiji Temple in Yokohama City, where I serve as the abbot.

I am very grateful to encounter this rare opportunity.

The host organizer of his conference, the Japan Buddhist Federation, marked the 60
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anniversary of its founding last year. Holding this conference is one of its commemorative
projects. We promote and uplift Buddhism by cooperating with the other member organizations.

It has already been eighteen years since we entered the twenty-first century. Looking at the
present condition of the world, this is certainly a chaotic time. With an axis of conflict caused
by racial and religious issues throughout all parts of the world and a chain of tragic terrorist
acts and hostilities, many people have fallen victim and become entangled in this worsening
situation.
“By joining forces, what should Buddhists do? What is the role for Buddhists to play?”

It is time for us to deliberate and have serious discussion about these matters, so we can
step forward with concrete activities.

This WFB General Conference is being held at a suitable moment considering these
circumstances.

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RECORD OF PROCEEDING | THE 29 GENERAL CONFERENCE OF THE WFB
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